What made me think it was a good idea to put the Texas State Capitol building so prominently in the current piece I'm working on? What made me think that doing all those fiddly little carved details would be such a breeze? It's taking forever!

Well, not really. It's going a little slower than I anticipated. Once I'm done with the building I have another object to do (not quite so detailed) then two figures.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

IMAGINARY CITIESfrom Winnipeg, Manitoba is one of Canada’s most buzzed about new groups.

Their song, RIDE THIS OUT has been rattling around my head for the last couple of days so in the great Blogger tradition of trying to rid myself of an "earworm", I pass it on to all of you. Enjoy!

This video was directed by Jeremy Fisher. The original footage was shot in three different cities and sometimes on mobile devices or small cameras and then sent to Fisher via email. Fisher then animated it using classic animation techniques and bold colours over a black background.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Well, HBO's GAME OF THRONES came to a glorious conclusion in its final episode. All the major storylines if not resolved, came to major turning points, sending them rousingly off on a clear direction for season 2. There were no cliffhangers per se, but even though not everything has been resolved it's pretty clear where the story is headed.

The question is, will the viewers tune in next year? HBO seems to think so and the ratings for season one were impressive. They blew away my predicted numbers by a fair margin and it was enough to keep it going and to give it another year. Despite my pessimistic reading of the situation before the series aired I have been pleasantly surprised that enough viewers have embraced this "Lord of the Rings for adults" in sufficient numbers.

Unfortunately the series will have to continue on without three major leads: Mark Addy, Jason Momoa and Sean Bean. Their departure from the show was no surprise to those who have read the book on which the series was based, but for viewers coming at it fresh those character's fates, (especially Sean Bean's Eddard Stark), would have came as quite a shock. Hopefully interest in the series will survive the loss of three major actors.

On the whole I would have to rate the series as a crowning success as an adaptation of George R. R. Martin's novel. I have a few quibbles with the adaptation. I mean they had ten hours to adapt one book and they still had to throw out a lot of stuff in order to make it all fit. At times it seemed like the story was unfolding at a break-neck pace. However, they did manage to get almost all the major plot points and characters as well as slipping in elements from the subsequent novels to flesh it out.

And speaking of flesh -- there was a lot of that. When the show is re-cut for markets that have stricture standards than HBO, much of that flesh will not be on display, but in just about every episode there were breasts, bums and genitalia on display to offend the more prudish sensibilities. The series is not exactly "family viewing" (although I did watch every episode with my wife and daughter, but we're all adults for all intents and purposes) (Well, my wife and daughter are, anyway. I'm the childish one)

A few sore points for me: Syrio Forel, although a great character (and wonderfully portrayed by Miltos Yeromelou), was not depicted as I imagined him. Sansa (Sophie Turner) seemed under developed as a character. The direwolves were given short shrift. They're very important to the story and to the characters, but their infrequent appearances did little to convey that. Also I was a little diappointed at the way they chose to depict Tyrion's part in the final battle. He gets knocked unconscious (a la Bilbo Baggins) and misses the whole thing. This was obviously done for production reasons -- it's cheaper not to show an all-out pitched battle than it is to stage it in all it's gory confusion, but it is a little unfair. In the book Tyrion participates in the battle and acquits himself rather well.

The other complaint I have with the series is how fast news seems to travel, especially given that messages are carried by ravens. I'm not sure how fast ravens can fly but they seem to rival twitter in the speedy spreading of news. Again, that is a production point. You can't show characters standing around for weeks waiting to get news that would be days old when finally read.

And what was that scene with Grand Maester Pycelle (Julian Glover) pontificating on the nature of kings all about?

Overall, however, I think George RR Martin should be pretty pleased with how his work has been treated. He even wrote one episode (episode 8, I believe) and that was, to my mind, one of their best. It would be a shame if Martin did not receive some sort of award for that.

Other standouts for me: The character of Bronn is far funnier in the series. Actor Jerome Flynn brings him to life in a very droll and understated way. The incredible Charles Dance is suitably chilling as Tywin Lannister and character actor James Cosmo is wonderful as Lord Mormont. I also liked David Bradley (Harry Potter's Argus Filch) as the lord Walder Frey. He had a very brief scene but it encapsulated that minor character very well.

GAME OF THRONES will likely be repeating on HBO and will probably (hopefully) show up on other networks (albeit likely in cleaned-up forms). Hopefully the audience for this excellent series will grow. If they keep the interest through the second season then we will likely get a third and probably a fourth. That and the release of the fifth and final volume in George RR Martin's series A DANCE WITH DRAGONS will also conspire to sell more copies of the books and (perhaps... fingers crossed... ) translate into sales for other fantasy series (...ahem ...swords of fire at amazon.com... ahem ...dark worlds magazine...).

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures.

Formed in November 1969 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Brock, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and styles of music. Critic Jim Green describes their trademark sound as characterised by "that gargantuan and impenetrable pre-metal/hardcore drone, those great riffs, that inexorable drive to destinations unknown". Dozens of musicians have worked with the group; The addition of bassist Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister and drummer Simon King propelled the band to greater heights.

As well, fantasy and science fiction writer Michael Moorcock was an occasional collaborator. At the beginning of 1975, the band recorded Warrior on the Edge of Time, their fifth studio album. It reached #13 on the UK album charts and was their third and last album to make the US Billboard chart, where it peaked at #150. Many of the lyrics are by Michael Moorcock and the album is loosely based on the concept of Moorcock's Eternal Champion.

According to Michael Moorcock: "Warrior On The Edge Of Time was a concept of mine. What Dave tends to do is he says 'Do us a concept' or 'I've got this rough concept, can you work it out?' I do it, then Dave has a different idea and the whole thing shifts away, so that's the way it works. It's a perfectly good way of working - it tends to give Dave a bit of a start or whatever. I was doing a lot of my 'Eternal Champion' stuff on stage, so it seemed automatic to do that because there were so many numbers I could fit into that. I was only in the studio about an hour to do the stuff I did, and it was one of those weird things I didn't get the session fee either."

"Assault and Battery" lyrics quote from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Psalm Of Life". The song is a popular live number, being performed occasionally over the years, and has appeared on numerous live albums, sometimes under the title "Lives of Great Men". It was included as part of the live show for The Chronicle of the Black Sword concept, appearing on the album Live Chronicles.

"The Golden Void" segues from "Assault and Battery", and the two songs are often performed live as a pair as on the albums Palace Springs (1991) and Canterbury Fayre 2001. The song is a popular live number, being performed occasionally over the years, and has appeared on numerous live albums, sometimes under the title "Void of Golden Light", as on 1994's The Business Trip.

"The Wizard Blew His Horn", "Standing at the Edge" and "Warriors" are Michael Moorcock poems based on his Eternal Champion literary figure. The poems are recited to atmospheric soundscapes provided by Simon House, and the percussionists Simon King and Alan Powell. The band had been performing them on stage during 1974, versions appearing on the The 1999 Party live album.

"Opa-Loka" is an instrumental that features a motorik rhythm and is strongly influenced by the music of Neu!, the title possibly being a reference to Opa-locka, Florida. It was performed live, but when Robert Calvert joined the band at the beginning of 1976, he would recite the poem "Vikings on Mars" over the top of it, the song evolving into "Uncle Sam's on Mars" on the 1979 album PXR5.

"The Demented Man" is a Brock acoustic number.

The lyrics of "Magnu" are based upon Percy Shelley's poem "Hymn of Apollo". The song is a popular live number, being performed occasionally over the years, versions on the albums Choose Your Masques: Collectors Series Volume 2 (1982), The Friday Rock Show Sessions (1986) and Canterbury Fayre 2001."Spiral Galaxy 28948" is a Simon House instrumental, the title being his date of birth (28 September 1948). It was performed live in 1975 after the release of the album, and again during 2001 when House had temporarily rejoined the band, a version appearing on the album Canterbury Fayre 2001.

During a North America tour in support of the album, Lemmy was caught in possession of amphetamine crossing the border from the USA into Canada. The border police mistook the powder for cocaine and he was jailed, forcing the band to cancel some shows. Fed up with his erratic behaviour, the band fired the bass player replacing him with their long standing friend and former Pink Fairies guitarist Paul Rudolph. Lemmy then teamed up with another Pink Fairies guitarist, Larry Wallis, to form Motörhead, named after the last song he had written for Hawkwind.

Here is MAGNU from that album:

And here is my favorite track from the album: Assault and Battery Part 1:

Hawkwind is still a band and they still tour. You can find out more about the band here:

Friday, June 17, 2011

I really can't say enough good things about Michael Ehart. Ever since his story, THE TOMB OF THE AMAZON QUEEN ran inDark Worlds #3 (and was subsequently nominated for a HARPUR'S PEN AWARD) I have been a fan. The two main characters of that story are featured in his novel THE TEARS OF ISHTAR which is published by Ancient Tomes Press and is well worth a look.So when I read that he had a story at RAYGUN REVIVAL I had to run over and read it right away. WHAT THE GUN SANG is a great story and the best part: you can read it right now, for free!

I've always liked RAYGUN REVIVAL (and not just because they published my story THE OLD NEW ENSIGN back in 2007). It is a terrific internet magazine where Space Opera is alive and well and, above all, exciting!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Lenny White's album ADVENTURES OF ASTRAL PIRATES is regarded as one of the greatest ever Jazz-Rock-Fusion albums.The Adventures of Astral Pirates is a jazz-fusion masterpiece with a futuristic science-fiction theme. Star Wars was number one at the box office when, in 1977, White produced this disc with Al Kooper, and perhaps Elektra was hoping to cash in on the film's popularity.

If you open the record's foldout cover, you can read White's tale of sci-fi battles that take place in the fifth millennium A.D. But you don't have to be a sci-fi fan to appreciate the mostly instrumental songs on this imaginative, risk-taking album, which finds White blending a jazz/rock/funk foundation with elements of everything from Middle Eastern music to Asian music.

I have fond memories of that album. My friend, G. W. Thomas had bought it (back in the days of vinyl albums) and we listened to it over and over again. Having a sci-fi themed album was so cool. I'm listening to the tracks now on my computer and the music still holds up after all these years, but I do miss having the huge, fold out album with the liner notes and the amazing artwork. The convenience of a digital download doesn't make up for extras like that.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay? www.mdjacksonart.weebly.comhttp://mdjackson.deviantart.comhttp://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

Saturday, June 11, 2011

I managed to get a little more done on this piece. You can probably see where it's going. It is progressing slowly because I haven't had much time for it between commissions, but that has been kind of satisfying in its own way.

Monday, June 6, 2011

This will be the last MONDAY MISCELLANEA for a while. An issue with my computer forced me to get rid of a lot of files that I had spent years collecting. I was surprised to discover that my image morgue contained over 40,000 images and took up almost 12 gigabytes of space on my hard drive.

RAGE MACHINE BOOKSTORE

SEE MY PICTURES!

About Me

Inside my head there are images trying to get out. When they finally emerge onto the computer screen they tell me whether or not I have represented them correctly. Some feel I have done them justice, others not so much... but they understand that it is in their pursuit that I learn the most.